Method and device for setting a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for setting a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system (1) having a plurality of drives (2), comprising the steps of: - determining the direction of travel (R) of the vehicle system (1), - defining a drive profile (A) in which, with respect to the direction of travel (R), a greater driving or braking torque is built up on rear drives (2) than on front drives (2), - outputting control commands (S) for driving the vehicle system (1) according to the drive profile (A). The invention also comprises a device, a control system and a track-bound vehicle system.

Description

[0001] 202411853

[0002] 1

[0003] Description

[0004] Method and device for adjusting a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system

[0005] The invention relates to a method and a device for adjusting a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system, a control system for controlling the drive of a track-bound vehicle system, and a track-bound vehicle system.

[0006] Measurements have shown that the wheels of a rail vehicle on the driven end bogies wear more than the wheels on the intermediate cars. This is because driving forces, i.e., traction or braking forces, are distributed evenly across the rail vehicle, e.g., a multiple unit, resulting in greater wear on the bogies at the front of the vehicle (in the direction of travel). When the direction of travel changes, the leading bogies, i.e., the outer ones, then experience increased wear.

[0007] This is due to various wear effects: thermal damage to the surface, crack propagation due to material stress, and abrasive wear. If the frictional contact in the wheel-rail system is less than the potential frictional contact as the quotient of the longitudinal force of the drive or brake and the wheel contact force, the wheel in question will slip. Highly variable contact conditions at the front of the rail vehicle lead to increased wear effects. Increased slippage is caused, for example, by moisture, leaves, rust, or dirt on the rails.

[0008] The high level of wear is usually accepted as a given. There are options to use more expensive, wear-resistant materials for the wheels or to perform more frequent preventative mechanical treatment of the wheel tread. However, this incurs higher costs.

[0009] It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for adjusting a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system, a control system for controlling the drive of a track-bound vehicle system and a track-bound vehicle system with which the disadvantages described above are avoided.

[0010] This task is accomplished by a method according to claim 1, a device according to claim 7, a control system according to claim 9 and a vehicle system according to 202411853

[0011] 2

[0012] Claim 10 of the patent has been solved.

[0013] It should be noted at the outset that the invention relates to track-bound vehicle systems. These are vehicles whose movement is bound to a fixed track, which guides the vehicles by positive locking against track elements. The invention is particularly advantageous for rail vehicles, which represent preferred track-bound vehicle systems. "Rail vehicle" essentially refers to a train of several units, e.g., locomotives and carriages, or a so-called "multiple unit," e.g., EMU (Electric Multiple Unit), DEMU (Diesel Electric Multiple Unit), BEMU (Battery Electric Multiple Unit), or HEMU (Hydrogen Electric Multiple Unit). Preferably, any train of vehicle units with several differently driven axles that travels on a rail or other guide can be considered a track-bound vehicle system. The guide elements that constitute the track of the track-bound vehicle system are referred to below as "rails" for optimal understanding.

[0014] A method according to the invention serves to adjust the drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system, preferably a rail vehicle, with multiple drives. It comprises the following steps:

[0015] - Determining the direction of travel of the vehicle system,

[0016] - Defining a drive profile in which, with respect to the direction of travel, a greater driving or braking torque is built up at rear drives than at leading drives (traction is thus built up from back to front),

[0017] - Issuing control commands to drive the vehicle system according to the drive profile.

[0018] The inventors observed that while the leading, driven wheelsets ("drives") experience greater wear from coatings on the rails, such as moisture, leaves, rust, or dirt, trailing wheelsets run on an increasingly clean railhead. The leading wheelsets thus remove at least some of the coating or dry the railhead. Consequently, the trailing wheelsets have better traction on the rail than the leading ones. The inventors utilize this effect, where the coating on the rails is reduced in most cases through displacement, aerodynamics, or other effects. With a drive unit located primarily at the rear of the vehicle system (viewed from the direction of travel), a higher degree of traction is available than with a leading drive unit.It should be noted that the rear drives may also be located at the front of the vehicle system, in an operation where a majority of drives are located at the front in front of several unpowered vehicles, or that the leading 202411853.

[0019] 3

[0020] Drives can also be located at the rear of the vehicle system, in an operation where a majority of drives ultimately push several unpowered vehicles.

[0021] Regarding wear, a distinction should be made between "micro-slip" (minimal slippage with little wear) and "macro-slip". 1 (severe slippage) can be distinguished. "Macro-slip" refers specifically to slippage that leads to a temperature increase due to friction, which damages the wheel material. If very high temperatures occur locally, macro-slip can cause lasting damage to a wheel.

[0022] The term "drive" here refers to driven wheelsets or "driving wheelsets". Wheelsets that can be controlled differently are different drives. Wheelsets that are always controlled in the same way are one drive.

[0023] This method is used to adjust the distribution of driving forces in a track-bound vehicle system, particularly in a rail vehicle with multiple drives. The drives are controlled independently, so that they deliver different driving forces to the rails. Drives at the rear (in the direction of travel) are given priority. The term "driving force distribution" refers to the distribution of tractive forces and / or braking forces. Typically, one speaks of tractive force when accelerating and braking force when braking.

[0024] To determine which are the leading and which are the rear drives, the direction of travel of the track-bound vehicle system is ascertained. The term "rear" always refers to the direction of travel. The leading drives are located towards the front of the track-bound vehicle system in the direction of travel, the rear drives in the opposite direction, preferably at its rear.

[0025] The drive profile specifies which drives are powered with which driving force (i.e., traction or braking force). According to the invention, the drive profile is designed such that (when applied) a greater driving or braking torque is generated at the rear drives than at the leading drives. This means that the rear drives exert a greater force on the rail than the leading drives, although the leading drives can also remain completely switched off. Thus, at least initially, a driving or braking torque is generated at the rear drives. It is therefore preferred that the drive profile is always applied when a driving force exceeding a predetermined limit is to be transferred from the track-bound vehicle system to the rail, i.e., essentially during acceleration processes of the track-bound vehicle.

[0026] 4

[0027] Vehicle system (positive or negative change in speed) or when driving uphill or downhill.

[0028] The issued control commands are used to propel or brake the track-bound vehicle system. They are designed so that a (positive or negative) change in motion occurs according to the drive profile. As stated above, this should dictate that during (positive or negative) accelerations, the rear drives have greater power than the front drives.

[0029] A device according to the invention serves to adjust a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system with multiple drives. It comprises the following components:

[0030] - a direction-of-travel unit designed to determine the direction of travel of the vehicle system,

[0031] - a drive profile unit designed to define a drive profile in which, with respect to the direction of travel, a greater driving or braking torque is generated at rear drives than at leading drives,

[0032] - a data interface designed to output control commands to drive the vehicle system according to the drive profile.

[0033] The function of the device's components has already been described. The device is preferably designed for carrying out a method according to the invention.

[0034] The direction control unit can preferably query the vehicle system's control unit to determine the direction of travel for the next acceleration. The direction of travel should be determined before starting off so that the acceleration process can be carried out according to the drive profile. However, it is also conceivable to determine the direction of travel during the acceleration itself and then immediately define and apply the drive profile before the drive enters macro-slip.

[0035] The drive profile unit can simply be a computing unit. It is also preferred that this unit has inputs for power meters on the drives and is designed to modify the drive profile according to the measured power, for example, by adding or removing additional drives from the drive profile. It is also preferred that the drive profile unit is designed to modify the drive profile during an acceleration process such that the power profile of the drives is adapted to the current measured values. Particularly preferred is the drive profile unit designed to generate control commands for driving the vehicle system according to the drive profile. 202411853

[0036] 5

[0037] The data interface is preferably designed to send control commands to drive the vehicle system according to the drive profile to the drives or to drive control units for the drives (traction control units).

[0038] The intelligent tractive force distribution of the invention preferentially generates the (positive or negative) accelerating torque at the drives located at the rear in the direction of travel. If the tractive force requirement exceeds the possible tractive force of the active drives, additional drives towards the front of the vehicle system are preferentially activated. Furthermore, the energy converted by the drive can be stored via long-term recording within the vehicle. If a drive is disproportionately loaded, it can be used with a lower priority in the vehicle system. This can be achieved by a self-learning algorithm. The algorithm can be implemented in a central control unit or in a networked system of local control units.

[0039] A control system according to the invention serves to control the drives of a track-bound vehicle system. It comprises several drive control units for controlling the drive power of a number of drives of the vehicle system. Such control systems are known in the prior art. The control system according to the invention differs from the prior art in that it additionally comprises a device according to the invention or is designed to carry out a method according to the invention. In particular, the drive control units are connected to each other and / or to the device via a data network.

[0040] A track-bound vehicle system according to the invention is preferably a rail vehicle (e.g. an EMU, EDMU, BMU, HEMU or BEMU) and comprises a control system according to the invention.

[0041] The invention can be implemented, in particular, in the form of a computer unit with suitable software. The computer unit can, for example, comprise one or more cooperating microprocessors or the like. In particular, it can be implemented in the form of suitable software program components within the computer unit. A largely software-based implementation has the advantage that even previously used computer units can be easily retrofitted by a software or firmware update to operate according to the invention. In this respect, the problem is also solved by a corresponding computer program product with a computer program that can be directly loaded into a memory device of a computer unit, containing program sections to execute all steps of the method according to the invention when the program is run in the computer unit.Such a computer program product may, in addition to the computer program, possibly include additional components such as documentation 202411853.

[0042] 6 and / or additional components, including hardware components such as hardware keys (dongles etc.) for using the software.

[0043] For transport to the computer unit and / or for storage on or in the computer unit, a computer-readable medium, such as a memory stick, a hard drive or other portable or permanently installed data carrier, can be used, on which the program sections of the computer program that can be read and executed by a computer unit are stored.

[0044] Further, particularly advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention result from the dependent claims and the following description, wherein the claims of one claim category may also be further developed analogously to the claims and description parts of another claim category and, in particular, individual features of different embodiments or variants may be combined to form new embodiments or variants.

[0045] According to a preferred embodiment of the method, before or during the activation of the vehicle system according to the drive profile, it is determined whether a predetermined power limit (a tractive force requirement) of the drives selected in the drive profile is (or would be) exceeded. If this limit is exceeded, additional drives in the direction of travel are activated or their power is increased so that they generate an additional driving torque. Since this is preferably to be done before starting, the expected force can preferably be determined and the number of drives required to achieve this force calculated. For example, the weight of the vehicle system can be estimated, and the steepness of the approach route can be determined based on a route plan (in particular, its information on inclines or declines).

[0046] According to a preferred embodiment of the method, before or during the activation of the vehicle system according to the drive profile, it is determined whether a predetermined minimum power limit of the drives selected in the drive profile is undershot. If this limit is undershot, drives provided in the drive profile are deactivated or their power is reduced in the opposite direction of travel from front to back. Since this is preferably to be carried out after starting, the power can preferably be simply measured and the drive profile adjusted if necessary. However, it can also be estimated before driving, with an existing drive profile, whether this drive profile should be changed accordingly. 202411853

[0047] 7

[0048] According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the drive profile initially includes a number of the rearmost drives, preferably at least the last drive or drives. It is preferred that the power (used for driving or braking) of these drives is measured or calculated, and if this power exceeds a limit, further drives are successively added to the drive profile from rear to front, or their power is increased.

[0049] Preferably, the drive profile is designed such that, in the case of two drives positioned one behind the other, the leading drive in the drive profile is assigned a lower or equal power output than the trailing drive, and that this applies to all drives. The drive profile is thus designed so that the assigned power decreases in the direction of travel.

[0050] Preferably, the drive profile is designed such that the driving or braking torque is generated at the drives located further back in the direction of travel, at least twice as large as at the drives located further forward. Preferably, for A drives, the torque at the N rearmost drives (0 <N<A / 2) mindestens 60 % bevorzugt mindestens 80% des Moments aller Antriebe zusammen.

[0051] The drive profile is particularly preferred in such a way that the rearmost drive is driven with at least 80% of its maximum power and the next preceding drives with a power equal to or less than that of the rearmost drive.

[0052] It is preferred that, in one embodiment of the method, the power or energy consumed by each drive is measured within a specific time period. This can be done briefly, within a few seconds, or continuously over minutes or hours, preferably throughout the entire journey. Essentially, it is at least preferred that measurements are taken during drive operations (acceleration or braking). The measured values ​​are then stored and assigned to the respective drives. Thus, power or energy values ​​are recorded while the vehicle system is in operation.

[0053] If a drive has entered macro-slip or has been loaded beyond a predefined limit, it may have suffered permanent damage. In this case, to protect or preserve this drive, the drive profile can be modified so that it operates at a lower power output. In this specific case, the rearmost drive may contribute less torque to traction than the next leading drive. Nevertheless, the drive profile is always designed so that a greater driving or braking torque is generated at one group of rear drives than at another group of leading drives. 202411853

[0054] 8

[0055] According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the drive profile is determined by a machine learning algorithm which has been trained to create drive profiles from the measured values.

[0056] A preferred device comprises a machine learning algorithm trained to create drive profiles from measured values ​​of the energy converted by the individual drives over a period of time. It is particularly preferred that the algorithm is used to create an intelligent drive profile in which macro-slip is minimized. This can be achieved, in particular, by determining whether macro-slip occurred at the drives and using this measurement as the basis for supervised learning, in which different drive profiles are used and the slip is minimized during the training process.

[0057] The use of AI-based methods (AI: "Artificial Intelligence") is preferred for the method according to the invention. Artificial intelligence is based on the principle of machine learning and is generally implemented with a learning algorithm that has been trained accordingly. The English term "machine learning" is frequently used for machine learning, and this also includes the principle of "deep learning".

[0058] Preferably, components of the invention are provided as a "cloud service." Such a cloud service serves to process data, particularly using artificial intelligence, but can also be a service based on conventional algorithms or a service where human evaluation takes place in the background. Generally, a cloud service (hereinafter also referred to simply as "cloud") is an IT infrastructure in which, for example, storage space or computing power and / or application software is provided via a network. Communication between the user and the cloud takes place via data interfaces and / or data transmission protocols. In the present case, it is particularly preferred that the cloud service provides both computing power and application software.

[0059] In a preferred method, data obtained within the scope of the invention is made available to the cloud service via the network. This cloud service comprises a computing system that typically does not include the user's local computer. The method can be implemented using a command structure within a network.

[0060] The data calculated in the cloud is later transferred back to the local system via the network (202411853).

[0061] 9

[0062] Sent to the user's computer.

[0063] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures and exemplary embodiments. The same components are designated with identical reference numerals in the various figures. The figures are generally not to scale. They show:

[0064] Figure 1 shows a track-bound vehicle system with a control system according to the invention comprising a device according to the invention.

[0065] Figure 2 shows a block diagram for a method according to the invention, and

[0066] Figure 3 shows a control system for a vehicle with a drive profile.

[0067] Figure 1 shows a vehicle system 1 with a control system 7 according to the invention, comprising a device 3 according to the invention for adjusting the drive force distribution in the vehicle system 1. The control system 7 serves to control the drive 2 of the vehicle system 1 and comprises several drive control units 8 for controlling the drive power of the drives 2. The drive control units 8 are connected to each other and to the device via a data network 9, so that the control system 7 can control the drives 2 according to the drive profile A. The device 3 comprises a direction control unit 4, a drive profile unit 5, and a data interface 6. It should be noted that the device 3 could also be located in one of the drive control units 8.

[0068] The direction of travel unit 4 is used to determine the direction of travel R of the vehicle system 1. In this example, it travels to the right.

[0069] The drive profile unit 5 serves to define a drive profile A in which, with respect to the direction of travel R, a greater driving or braking torque is built up on rear drives 2 (i.e. the drives on the left) than on leading drives 2.

[0070] The data interface 6 is used to output control commands S to the data network 9 to drive the vehicle system 1 according to the drive profile A.

[0071] Figure 2 shows a method for adjusting a drive force distribution in a vehicle system 1. 202411853

[0072] 10

[0073] In step I, the direction of travel R of vehicle system 1 is determined.

[0074] In step II, a drive profile A is defined in which, with respect to the direction of travel R, a greater driving or braking torque is built up at rear drives 2 than at leading drives 2.

[0075] In step III, control commands S are issued to drive the vehicle system 1 according to the drive profile A.

[0076] Figure 3 shows a control system for a vehicle system 1 according to Figure 1 with a drive profile A, in which the three rear drives 2 (active drive control units 8 hatched) are initially driven (top image). The direction of travel R is to the right, so that the rear drives 2 are the left drives 2.

[0077] When the vehicle system 1 is driven according to drive profile A, it is now determined whether a predetermined power limit of the drives 2 selected in drive profile A is exceeded; the middle illustration shows the case of an exceedance in which another drive 2 in the direction of travel R has been activated, so that it can build up an additional driving torque.

[0078] In the bottom diagram, vehicle system 1 has stopped and changed direction R. It is now moving to the left. The last drive profile has been retained, so the four rear drives 2 are still active.

[0079] Finally, it should be noted once again that the invention described in detail above merely represents exemplary embodiments, which can be modified in various ways by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the use of the indefinite articles "a" or "an" does not preclude the possibility that the features in question may be present multiple times. Likewise, terms such as "unit" do not preclude the possibility that the components in question consist of several interacting sub-components, which may also be spatially distributed. The term "a number" should be read as "at least one." Regardless of the grammatical gender of a particular term, persons of male, female, or other gender identities are included. 202411853

[0080] 11

[0081] Reference symbol list

[0082] 1 Vehicle system

[0083] 2 Drive / Chassis 3 Device

[0084] 4-way unit

[0085] 5 Drive profile unit

[0086] 6 Data interface

[0087] 7 Control system 8 Drive control unit

[0088] 9 Data network

[0089] A drive profile

[0090] R direction of travel

[0091] S control commands

Claims

202411853 12 Patent claims 1. Method for adjusting a drive force distribution in a track-bound vehicle system (1) with multiple drives (2), comprising the steps: - Determining the direction of travel (R) of the vehicle system (1), - Defining a drive profile (A) in which, with respect to the direction of travel (R), a greater driving or braking torque is built up at rear drives (2) than at leading drives (2), - Output of control commands (S) to drive the vehicle system (1) according to the drive profile (A).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein before or during the operation of the vehicle system (1) according to the drive profile (A) it is determined whether a predetermined power limit of the drives (2) selected in the drive profile (A) is exceeded, and in the event of an exceedance, further drives (2) in the direction of travel (R) are activated or their power is increased so that they build up an additional driving torque.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the drive profile (A) initially includes a number of the rearmost drives (2), wherein the power of these drives (2) is measured or calculated and if this power exceeds a limit value, further drives (2) are successively added to the drive profile (A) from rear to front or their power is increased.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein in the event that a drive (2) has entered macro-slip or has been loaded beyond a predetermined limit value, the drive profile (A) is modified so that this drive (2) is used with a lower power than before.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the drive profile (A) is determined by a machine learning algorithm which has been trained to create drive profiles (A) from the measured values.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the drive profile (A) is designed such that at least twice the driving or braking torque is generated at the drives located further back in relation to the direction of travel as at the drives located further forward (2), and / or wherein, in the case of A drives (A), the torque at the N rearmost drives (A), with 0 <N<A / 2, mindestens 60 % bevorzugt mindestens 80% des Moments aller Antriebe (2) zusammen beträgt. 202411853 13 7. Device (3) for adjusting a drive force distribution (2) in a track-bound vehicle system (1) with multiple drives (2), comprising: - a direction-of-travel unit (4) designed to determine the direction of travel (R) of the vehicle system (1), - a drive profile unit (5) designed to define a drive profile (A) in which, with respect to the direction of travel (R), a greater driving or braking torque is generated at rear drives (2) than at leading drives (2), - a data interface (6) designed to output control commands (S) to drive the vehicle system (1) according to the drive profile (A).

8. Device (3) according to claim 7, comprising a machine learning-capable algorithm trained to create drive profiles (A) from measured values ​​of converted energy of the individual drives (2) over a period of time.

9. Control system (7) for controlling drives (2) of a track-bound vehicle system (1) comprising several drive control units (8) for controlling the drive power of each number of drives (2) of the vehicle system (1) and a device (3) according to one of claims 7 or 8 and / or designed for carrying out a method according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein in particular the drive control units (8) are connected to each other and / or to the device via a data network (9).

10. Track-bound vehicle system (1) comprising a control system (7) according to claim 9.

11. Computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause it to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

12. Computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause it to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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